Pitch

the batting zone ("zona de bătaie") - 5m long - delimited from the in game area by the batting line

the back zone ("zona de fund") - a 5m long safe zone during a run - delimited from the in game area by the back line

The attacking side player that has commenced a run will have to cross the following four lines in order:

the start line (the left side of the batting line)

the arrival line (the left side of the back line)

the return line (the right side of the back line)

the escape line (the right side of the batting line)

The in game area is further split into the advance and return triangles and squares. At the intersection of the lines inside the game area and the pitch limits or other lines within the game area, there are circles which determine the positions of the midfielders ("mijlocaşi") and side players ("mărginaşi"). The 1m and 3m semicircles are used for batting and serving. A waiting line is drawn for attacking players to wait their turn to bat.

Players

There are two teams of 11 players, one attacking side or "at bat" ("la bătaie") and one defending side or "at catch" ("la prindere"). The roles switch at half time.

The defending players are placed in the following positions:

3 midfielders ("mijlocaşi")

3 advance side players ("mărginaşi de ducere")

3 return side players ("mărginaşi de întoarcere")

1 back player ("fundaş") that is free to move within the back zone

1 forward player ("fruntaş") that is free to move within the batting zone

The attacking players change roles as the game progresses. The roles are chronologically ordered this way:

waiting one's turn

serving the ball

batting

waiting to enter the game (make a run)

running the advance corridor

staying in the back zone

running the return corridor

Each team has a captain ("căpitan" or "baci""). The midfielder 2 is usually used as captain because he can throw the ball at an attacking player in any in game position. For this reason, the midfielder 2 is also known as a baci.

Each team has a maximum of 5 substitutes available.

Scope of the game

The teams have very different roles depending on whether they are at bat or at catch. At bat players are tasked to open a play and run the lanes until they cross the escape line. At catch players are tasked to hit the players running the lanes with the ball. There can be a maximum of 2 players running each lane at the same time. A player can be hit in both lanes once.

Rules

The team at bat is selected by a ritual where the players have to grab the bat, thrown by the referee, and the last one to be able to place at least 4 fingers on the bat wins. The game begins with the team at bat, with one of the players throwing the ball while another player of the same team has to hit it with a wooden bat ("bâtă") and send it as far as he can towards the adversary field. After that, if the ball is caught by the adversaries, the player can run (if he wishes, or if he is forced to run by the referee) the advance and return corridors/lanes ("culoarele de ducere şi întoarcere"), without being hit by the defenders. If he stops the ball with his palm, it is not considered a hit. The player is not allowed to catch the ball, and he must release it immediately. If the player doing a run is hit he goes out of field and into the back zone, or he finishes his tasks, depending on which lane he is running.

Scoring

In game

At catch players score 2 points for each player hit with a ball, unless the ball touches the palm or the back of the palm.

At bat players score by batting beyond certain lines, like so:

the ball crosses the 65m line in the air and doesn't go out of bounds (doesn't cross the lateral lines), whether or not the defense touches the ball in the air - 2 points

the ball falls in the back zone - 2 points

the ball is touched in the air by the defense, and goes out of bounds in the air from within the back zone - 2 points

the ball goes out of bounds in the air from within the back zone without being touched by the defense - 1 point

the ball crosses the 60m line (the back line) in the air and is caught by the defense - 1 point

the ball crosses the threequarters line in the air and falls in the threequarters area - 1 point

the ball goes out of bounds in the air from within the threequarters area - 1 point

the ball is diverted out of bounds in the air from within the threequartees area by the defense - 1 point

the ball falls on the threequarters area of the back line - 1 point

the ball is diverted from within the threequarters area in front of the threequarters line by the defense and is not subsequently caught in the air - 1 point

Competition

Winning brings the team 3 points, a draw brings in 2 points, and the losing team will score 1 point. Quitting or elimination of the team will result in no points being awarded and a 0-9 loss. Running out of substitutes due to injuries will result in a 0-6 loss and 1 point being awarded, while if the same situation is due to the elimination of a player, the result will be a 0-9 loss and no points being awarded.

Ball

A spherical ball made of leather, filled with horse, pig, or bovinehair is used in oină. The ball is around 8 cm in diameter and 140 grams in senior games and around 7 cm in diameter and 100 grams in U-18 games.

Comparison with baseball

Similar weight of the ball: around 140 grams for both

Longer and slimmer bat for oină

A game takes only 30 minutes for oină

Oină teams have 11 players; Baseball teams have 9 players

In oină, the defense can score by hitting the attacking players that are in game (running the lanes)

Competitions in Romania

All competitions are organized by the governing body, the Romanian Oină Federation ("Federaţia Română de Oină" - FRO).

Internationalizing Oină

Oină and variants of the sport are also played in neighboring countries where there has been or still is a Romanian ethnic or cultural presence. As part of its program to bring oină to the spotlight again, the FRO has begun the process of creating an international federation.[3] A minimum of 3 national federations need to exist in order to form an international federation, and 2 exist already (the Romanian and Moldovan federations). The FRO has begun talks of founding oină clubs and federations in neighboring Bulgaria and Serbia,[4] and in Sweden.[5] Demonstration matches are to be held in Serbia.